New Hifiman Headphone HE-400 is out - Page 378

I just did the headband mod.

But I can't say it's working too well for me. The problem is that it's really thick. Having it on means I have to adjust the cups down to the max level. Even then, the cup pads are hitting my ear lobes. Forcibly stretching it down to cover my whole ear puts too much pressure on top of my head which is what I'm trying to fix in the first place. I don't know if my head is that big or what (I'm only 5' 4"). Here's my adjustment level with the regular headband:

I am using two pieces of Velcro to attach it though. I'll try again with some thinner double sided tape to see if that works better. I can tell the new headband spreads the pressure a little better. If I can get the fit right, it should be pretty comfortable.

Hopefully, within a week or so, I'll be able to post my HE-400 headband modification.  When finished, it should appear to be a stock pad, but with more padding.  I will do this so that the original pad will remain underneath and will not be affected by my proposed modification.  

So many thoughts of good things to make ... so little free time to get them executed and in motion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRagnarok 

I just did the headband mod....But I can't say it's working too well for me. The problem is that it's really thick. Having it on means I have to adjust the cups down to the max level. Even then, the cup pads are hitting my ear lobes. Forcibly stretching it down to cover my whole ear puts too much pressure on top of my head which is what I'm trying to fix in the first place. I don't know if my head is that big or what (I'm only 5' 4"). H

Dude, you (and all other HE400 owners) need to get this headband cushion ASAP, it's insanely comfortable, and actually shapes out to form to your head after a few days of use (as seen here):

I'd say that arbitrarily it gives a 200% boost to the "don't feel the headband at all when wearing the headphones" sensation relative to stock headband.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

Hopefully, within a week or so, I'll be able to post my HE-400 headband modification.  When finished, it should appear to be a stock pad, but with more padding.  I will do this so that the original pad will remain underneath and will not be affected by my proposed modification.  

 

So many thoughts of good things to make ... so little free time to get them executed and in motion.

Very much looking forward to that.

I also received my paracord sleeving today. I'd say it's a really nice match for the HE-400. Just waiting for the rest of the parts. Can't wait to make the cable!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

 

Dude, you (and all other HE400 owners) need to get this headband cushion ASAP, it's insanely comfortable, and actually shapes out to form to your head after a few days of use (as seen here):

 

 

I'd say that arbitrarily it gives a 200% boost to the "don't feel the headband at all when wearing the headphones" sensation relative to stock headband.

Showing off those sketches, huh?  How do you keep those pads so clean?

Does the headband affect the clamp any?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

 

Dude, you (and all other HE400 owners) need to get this headband cushion ASAP, it's insanely comfortable, and actually shapes out to form to your head after a few days of use (as seen here):

 

I'd say that arbitrarily it gives a 200% boost to the "don't feel the headband at all when wearing the headphones" sensation relative to stock headband.

I was going to get that at one point, but I thought the HD 600 headband would look nicer. It's this one right?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Headband-Cushion-Pad-fit-BEYER-HiFiMAN-DENON-SONY-KOSS-BOSE-BEATS-DRE-Headphones-/200799150982?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item2ec08fe386#ht_836wt_906

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwinQY 

 

Showing off those sketches, huh?  How do you keep those pads so clean?

 

Does the headband affect the clamp any?

I needed a piece of paper to contrast the headband in order to show the details, and the only scrap paper I have lying around have doodles on them so...

The pads are actually very dusty, it's just a trick with camera flash.

the headband forces me to have the extenders at max extension in order to fit my head perfectly, but with that adjustment no they don't affect the clamp. They do increase the snugginess of the fit though so the headphones stay on very well even without lots of clamping force.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMRaven 

Were you listening to the same exact songs the first and second time?

Yes.   The idea was to do a review and then sell them.   Since I had seen various comments about burn-in, I thought that would make my review more rigorous to have included a burn-in period.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTCG 

I think that may be the biggest difference between the two hp's is scaleability with amps. The he400 doesn't require a powerhouse amp and sound pretty damn good all the way down to the e17. The hd650 scales incredibly well but doesn't sound good at all with something like the e17.  They are similar in price, but if you don't plan to at least get into a mid-fi amp then the he400 is the way to go. 

 

But with the lyr and bifrost the hd650 is truly special. It will be interesting to see how much better the he400 will be with the same combo. 

Can someone explain this?  If the HD650 has enough juice behind it with a particular amp, shouldn't that be end of story?  Are these differences people refer to when upgrading from mid-tier amp to high-tier amps measurable?

I'm really surprised about the whole comfort discussion regarding the HE-400. I got my pair yesterday and had them on for about 5 hours in a row, without feeling any discomfort whatsoever with the stock headband. I'm being really honest here, I think they're more comfortable than the DT-990 Edition, because their headband actually makes my head a bit sore after 2+ hours of use. I must just happen to have a perfectly sized and shaped head for the stock HE-400

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRagnarok 

 

I also received my paracord sleeving today. I'd say it's a really nice match for the HE-400. Just waiting for the rest of the parts. Can't wait to make the cable!

 

 

Very nice!  I like the soft sleeves to install over headphone cables.   I've used Techflex before, and it feels like you have a snake on you if the cable is on your lap.  I'll have to check if it might be available at a local outdoors store, so I could do something similar.

Shameless Plug:  I have an original HifiMAN balanced cable listed for sale under the cable and accessories section.  This cable can also be used for regular applications too, as it also includes a balanced to 1/4" TRS male jack adapter.

Additionally, in regards to the pleather vs. velour quest that many are on, with a majority agreeing that the velour is a much better choice sound-wise.  I can confirm some "odd" behavioral sounds when using the pleather pads on my Fostex (modified) headphones.  Granted, the Fostex situation might be a bit different, but the bass was a bit soft, spongy sounding.  Much unlike the sound of the pleather Shure 840 pads and others I have tried.  Now, this brings up another question.  I wonder how a pair of Shure 840 pads (in pleather) would sound when attached to the mounting rings and then installed on the HE-400?  When all of my accessories arrive today, I'll see if I can make some determination on how the sound resolves as related to another pleather pad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spittis 

I'm really surprised about the whole comfort discussion regarding the HE-400. I got my pair yesterday and had them on for about 5 hours in a row, without feeling any discomfort whatsoever with the stock headband. I'm being really honest here, I think they're more comfortable than the DT-990 Edition, because their headband actually makes my head a bit sore after 2+ hours of use. I must just happen to have a perfectly sized and shaped head for the stock HE-400

I agree with this 100%. I got mine yesterday too and after a few hours listening, I had zero discomfort. That is a lot more than I can say about my Fostexes, even with a soft leather belt suspension, I am uncomfortable after less than an hour.

These sound wonderful so far, a big step up from my Fostexes, even after tons of modding. I haven't listened to my Grados in so long that I just forgot what it felt like to listen to a nice open headphone and how much I like it.

My only issue now is the stock cable. The silicon braided cable I made for my Fostexes has really spoiled me, it's so soft I don't even remember it's there. I couldn't even read a magazine last night, the stiff stock cable just kept getting in my way. Plus the twisting drives me crazy (not as bad as with Grados though). I will definitely be making another cable for these as soon as I can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spittis 

I'm really surprised about the whole comfort discussion regarding the HE-400. I got my pair yesterday and had them on for about 5 hours in a row, without feeling any discomfort whatsoever with the stock headband.... I must just happen to have a perfectly sized and shaped head for the stock HE-400

+1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

I believe in burn like I believe in the government.

Just because you wanna believe in it, doesnt make it true. You hear it because you expected to hear it. Why sugarcoat it? Thats the miracle of expectation bias. Its a helluva drug.

Both the HE400s I have owned have sounded the exact same from day one, the only difference being when I swapped to velour pads.

You did not bother to actually read my comments.

1 - My comments were about the SRH-1840, not the HE-400.   Since burn-in is about the effect of constant vibration changing the flexibility of materials in products (which has been demonstrated in tests), it stands to reason that different headphones made from different materials would vary quite a bit in whether they change with use.   Planars are very different from dynamics, which is why I was asking about burn-in experiences concerning the HE-400.

2 - I specifically said that I did NOT want the headphones to sound better after the burn-in, that I was only doing the burn-in, so that I could cite that in my review.

By the way, other comments refer to "brain burn-in", which is an interesting topic.  We know that the brain does do this - when you first start listening to people who speak with a different dialect, they are hard to understand, but after listening to them for awhile, they become easier and easier to understand.  Listening to familiar music with different equipment could very well have the process happening.  If people listen to headphones for 100 hours, and it sounds better at the end, it could be "brain burn-in".

However, most of the people on head-fi who burn-in headphones run them in a closet with a music player, so "brain burn-in" does not apply in those cases....